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Abstract:

A terminal and method for recognizing a communication target within a
visible range. The method of a terminal to recognize a communication
target includes obtaining location information of a communication target
whose identification information is unknown within a visible range of a
terminal user; and recognizing a relative location of the communication
target with respect to the terminal based on the obtained location
information and displaying the recognized relative location of the
communication target.

Claims:

1. A method of a terminal to recognize a communication target,
comprising: obtaining location information of a communication target
which is located within a visible range of a terminal user and whose
identification information is unknown; and recognizing a relative
location of the communication target with respect to the terminal based
on the obtained location information and displaying the recognized
relative location of the communication target.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the location
information of the communication target comprises calculating an
orientation angle between a reference direction and a direction to which
the terminal is directed, setting a transmission range based on a
reference line of the calculated is orientation angle, within which a
location information request signal is transmitted, and emitting the
location information request signal within the transmission range and
receiving the location information of the communication target that has
received the emitted request signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the setting of the transmission range
comprises setting a field of view of an image capturing unit of the
terminal, which is a field of view of the terminal user and within which
the image capturing unit can acquire an image of the communication
target, as the transmission range.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying of the recognized
relative location of the communication target comprises calculating a
relative angle of the communication target that is formed between a
direction to which the communication target is directed and a boundary of
the field of view of the terminal user with respect to the terminal by
using the obtained location information of the communication target and
mapping the communication target in a screen of the terminal in
accordance with a screen size of the terminal using the calculated
relative angle of the communication target.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the calculating of the relative angle
of the communication target is carried out by performing an operation on
an orientation angle between a reference direction of the terminal and
the direction to which the communication target is directed, an
orientation angle between the reference direction of the terminal and a
direction to which the terminal is directed, and an orientation angle
between the boundary of the field of view of the terminal user and the
direction to which the terminal is directed.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the mapping of the communication target
comprises calculating a relative location of the communication terminal
to be displayed on the screen of the terminal using the calculated
relative angle of the communication terminal, a width of the screen of
the terminal and the field of view of the terminal user and mapping an
image of the communication target acquired by an image capturing unit of
the terminal to the relative location of the communication target and
displaying the mapping result.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: setting a starting point at
one end of the screen of the terminal, wherein the mapping of the image
of the communication target and the displaying of the mapping result
comprises displaying the communication target in such a manner that the
terminal user can recognize a relative distance of the communication
terminal from the set starting point in the screen.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the displaying of the mapping result
further comprises displaying a border set between communication targets
so that the communication targets can be distinguished from each other
and the terminal user can select a desired communication target among
them.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: establishing a
communication link to the communication target displayed on the screen.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the establishing of the communication
link to the communication target comprises, if the obtained location
information of the communication target includes identification
information, establishing the communication link to the communication
target using the identification information, and if failing to receive
identification information from the communication target, transmitting
location information of a communication target from the terminal to a
corresponding communication target, if the corresponding communication
target confirms that the location information transmitted from the
terminal is the same as its location information, receiving
identification information from the corresponding communication target,
and establishing a communication link to the corresponding communication
target using the received identification information.

11. A method of a terminal to recognize a communication target,
comprising: acquiring an image of the communication target which is
located within a visible range of a terminal user and whose
identification information is unknown; obtaining orientation information
of the terminal including a direction and an orientation angle of the
terminal; issuing a location information request to the communication
target and receiving location information of the communication target as
a response; and recognizing a relative location of the communication
target using the orientation information of the terminal and the location
information of the communication target, mapping the recognized relative
location of the communication target to the acquired image of the
communication target and displaying the mapping result on a screen of the
terminal.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: displaying relative
locations of one or more communication targets in a different manner on
the screen such that the terminal user can easily recognize the one or
more communication targets; receiving a communication target selection
instruction from the terminal user to select one from the communication
targets displayed on the screen; and establishing a communication link to
the communication target selected by the terminal user.

13. A terminal comprising: a sensor configured to acquire orientation
information including a direction and an orientation angle of the
terminal; a communication unit configured to issue a request for location
information to a communication target which is located within a visible
range of a terminal user and whose identification information is unknown
and receive the location information from the communication target; a
control unit configured to recognize a relative location of the
communication target using the orientation information of the terminal
and the location information of the is communication target and map the
recognized relative location of the communication target in a screen of
the terminal; and an output unit configured to display the mapped
relative location of the communication target on the screen.

14. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the control unit is configured to
comprise a location information processing unit configured to set a
transmission range based on a reference line of an orientation angle
obtained by the sensor, within which a location information request
signal can be transmitted, emit the location information request signal
within the set transmission range through the communication unit, and
obtain and process the location information of the communication target
that has received the emitted location information request signal.

15. The terminal of claim 14, wherein the control unit is configured to
further comprise a relative location calculating unit configured to
receive the location information of the communication target from the
location information processing unit and calculate a relative angle of
the communication target formed between a boundary of a field of view of
the terminal user and a direction to which the communication target is
directed with respect to the terminal using the received location
information of the communication target, and mapping unit configured to
map the communication target in a screen of the terminal in accordance
with a screen size using the calculated relative angle of the
communication target.

16. The terminal of claim 15, wherein the relative location calculating
unit is configured to calculate the relative angle of the communication
target by performing an operation on an orientation angle between a
reference direction of the terminal and the direction to which the
communication target is directed, an orientation angle between the
reference direction of the terminal and a direction to which the terminal
is directed, and an orientation angle between the boundary of the field
of view of the terminal user and the direction to which the terminal is
directed.

17. The terminal of claim 15, wherein the mapping unit is configured to
calculate the relative location of the communication target to be
displayed on the screen by performing an operation on the calculated
relative angle of the communication target, a width of the screen of the
terminal and the field of view of the terminal user, and map the
calculated relative location of the communication target in the screen.

18. The terminal of claim 15, further comprising: an image capturing unit
configured to acquire an image of the communication target in real time,
wherein the relative location calculating unit is configured to recognize
the relative location of the communication target whose image is acquired
by the image capturing unit and the mapping unit is configured to map the
relative location of the communication target recognized by the relative
location calculating unit and the image of the communication target
acquired by the image capturing unit in the screen of the terminal.

19. The terminal of claim 13, further comprising: an input unit
configured to receive a communication target selection instruction from
the terminal user to select one from communication targets displayed on
the screen by the output unit, wherein the output unit displays relative
locations of one or more communication targets in a different manner by
displaying a border between the one or more communication targets on the
screen such that the terminal user can easily select one from the one or
more communication targets.

20. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the communication unit is
configured to, if the received location information of the communication
target includes identification information, establish a communication
link to the communication target using the identification information,
and if it fails to receive identification information from the
communication target, transmit location information of a communication
target to a corresponding communication target, if the corresponding
communication target confirms that the location information transmitted
from the terminal is the same as its location information, receive
identification information from the corresponding communication target,
and establish a communication link to the corresponding communication
target using the received identification information.

Description:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of
Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2012-0012017, filed on Feb. 6, 2012,
and 10-2013-0000746, filed on Jan. 3, 2013, the entire disclosures of
which are incorporated herein by references for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

[0002] 1. Field

[0003] The following description relates to location recognition and
location-based service provision.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] With the wide use of global positioning system (GPS)-equipped
wireless terminals, such as smartphones, tablet PCs, and the like, an
increasing number of various location-based services have been provided.
Representative examples of such services are navigation systems that
utilize coordinate information obtained in real time from signals from
GPS satellites and augmented reality (AR) mobile applications that
provide surrounding information. Recently, with the help of an access
point (AP) of a wireless local area network (WLAN), the application of
location-based services has expanded to radio shadow areas and interior
areas where it is not possible to receive GPS signals.

[0006] Currently available location-based services store absolute location
information of buildings or fixed objects in a database, and
unconditionally provide information about buildings and objects around a
terminal user based on a location of the terminal. Such conventional
service provision methods require service providers to store a massive
amount of information in a DB and constantly update changes in
surrounding information. In addition, users are not able to obtain
information about buildings and objects which are not present in the DB
of the service providers. Moreover, it is difficult to provide
application services that allow the mutual transmission and reception of
information between the user's terminal and other terminals in the
proximity of the user based on location information of the other
terminals. Furthermore, in pattern matching scheme, in which an image
captured by a user is compared with image patterns of objects stored in a
DB as communication target candidates and a similarity therebetween is
detected, the recognition of images may be difficult since the images are
sensitive to lighting and weather conditions.

SUMMARY

[0007] Accordingly, in one aspect, there is provided a terminal and method
for recognizing a communication target which is present in a visible
range of a terminal user and whose identification information is unknown
and displaying communication targets in a different manner in a screen so
that a desired communication target can be selected by the terminal user
and a communication link to the selected communication target is
established.

[0008] In one general aspect, there is provided a method of a terminal to
recognize a communication target, comprising: obtaining location
information of a communication target which is located within a visible
range of a terminal user and whose identification information is unknown;
and recognizing a relative location of the communication target with
respect to the terminal based on the obtained location information and
displaying the recognized relative location of the communication target.

[0009] The obtaining of the location information of the communication
target may include calculating an orientation angle between a reference
direction and a direction to which the terminal is directed, setting a
transmission range based on a reference line of the calculated
orientation angle, within which a location information request signal is
transmitted, and emitting the location information request signal within
the transmission range and receiving the location information of the
communication target that has received the emitted request signal.

[0010] The setting of the transmission range may include setting a field
of view of an image capturing unit of the terminal, which is a field of
view of the terminal user and within which the image capturing unit can
acquire an image of the communication target, as the transmission range.

[0011] The displaying of the recognized relative location of the
communication target may include calculating a relative angle of the
communication target that is formed between a direction to which the
communication target is directed and a boundary of the field of view of
the terminal user with respect to the terminal by using the obtained
location information of the communication target and mapping the
communication target in a screen of the terminal in accordance with a
screen size of the terminal using the calculated relative angle of the
communication target.

[0012] The calculating of the relative angle of the communication target
may be carried out by performing an operation on an orientation angle
between a reference direction of the terminal and the direction to which
the communication target is directed, an orientation angle between the
reference direction of the terminal and a direction to which the terminal
is directed, and an orientation angle between the boundary of the field
of view of the terminal user and the direction to which the terminal is
directed.

[0013] The mapping of the communication target may include calculating a
relative location of the communication terminal to be displayed on the
screen of the terminal using the calculated relative angle of the
communication terminal, a width of the screen of the terminal and the
field of view of the terminal user and mapping an image of the
communication target acquired by an image capturing unit of the terminal
to the relative location of the communication target and displaying the
mapping result.

[0014] The method may further comprise setting a starting point at one end
of the screen of the terminal, wherein the mapping of the image of the
communication target and the displaying of the mapping result comprises
displaying the communication target in such a manner that the terminal
user can recognize a relative distance of the communication terminal from
the set starting point in the screen.

[0015] The displaying of the mapping result may further include displaying
a border set between communication targets so that the communication
targets can be distinguished from each other and the terminal user can
select a desired communication target among them.

[0016] The method may further include establishing a communication link to
the communication target displayed on the screen.

[0017] The establishing of the communication link to the communication
target may include, if the obtained location information of the
communication target includes identification information, establishing
the communication link to the communication target using the
identification information, and if failing to receive identification
information from the communication target, transmitting location
information of a communication target from the terminal to a
corresponding communication target, if the corresponding communication
target confirms that the location information transmitted from the
terminal is the same as its location information, receiving
identification information from the corresponding communication target,
and establishing a communication link to the corresponding communication
target using the received identification information.

[0018] In another general aspect, there is provided a method of a terminal
to recognize a communication target, comprising: acquiring an image of
the communication target which is located within a visible range of a
terminal user and whose identification information is unknown; obtaining
orientation information of the terminal including a direction and an
orientation angle of the terminal; issuing a location information request
to the communication target and receiving location information of the
communication target as a response; and recognizing a relative location
of the communication target using the orientation information of the
terminal and the location information of the communication target,
mapping the recognized relative location of the communication target to
the acquired image of the communication target and displaying the mapping
result on a screen of the terminal.

[0019] The method may further include displaying relative locations of one
or more communication targets in a different manner on the screen such
that the terminal user can easily recognize the one or more communication
targets; receiving a communication target selection instruction from the
terminal user to select one from the communication targets displayed on
the screen; and establishing a communication link to the communication
target selected by the terminal user.

[0020] In another general aspect, there is provided a terminal comprising:
a sensor configured to acquire orientation information including a
direction and an orientation angle of the terminal; a communication unit
configured to issue a request for location information to a communication
target which is located within a visible range of a terminal user and
whose identification information is unknown and receive the location
information from the communication target; a control unit configured to
recognize a relative location of the communication target using the
orientation information of the terminal and the location information of
the communication target and map the recognized relative location of the
communication target in a screen of the terminal; and an output unit
configured to display the mapped relative location of the communication
target on the screen.

[0021] The control unit may be configured to comprise a location
information processing unit configured to set a transmission range based
on a reference line of an orientation angle obtained by the sensor,
within which a location information request signal can be transmitted,
emit the location information request signal within the set transmission
range through the communication unit, and obtain and process the location
information of the communication target that has received the emitted
location information request signal.

[0022] The control unit may be configured to further comprise a relative
location calculating unit configured to receive the location information
of the communication target from the location information processing unit
and calculate a relative angle of the communication target formed between
a boundary of a field of view of the terminal user and a direction to
which the communication target is directed with respect to the terminal
using the received location information of the communication target, and
mapping unit configured to map the communication target in a screen of
the terminal in accordance with a screen size using the calculated
relative angle of the communication target.

[0023] The relative location calculating unit may be configured to
calculate the relative angle of the communication target by performing an
operation on an orientation angle between a reference direction of the
terminal and the direction to which the communication target is directed,
an orientation angle between the reference direction of the terminal and
a direction to which the terminal is directed, and an orientation angle
between the boundary of the field of view of the terminal user and the
direction to which the terminal is directed.

[0024] The mapping unit may be configured to calculate the relative
location of the communication target to be displayed on the screen by
performing an operation on the calculated relative angle of the
communication target, a width of the screen of the terminal and the field
of view of the terminal user, and map the calculated relative location of
the communication target in the screen.

[0025] The terminal may further include an image capturing unit configured
to acquire an image of the communication target in real time, wherein the
relative location calculating unit is configured to recognize the
relative location of the communication target whose image is acquired by
the image capturing unit and the mapping unit is configured to map the
relative location of the communication target recognized by the relative
location calculating unit and the image of the communication target
acquired by the image capturing unit in the screen of the terminal.

[0026] The terminal may further include an input unit configured to
receive a communication target selection instruction from the terminal
user to select one from communication targets displayed on the screen by
the output unit, wherein the output unit displays relative locations of
one or more communication targets in a different manner by displaying a
border between the one or more communication targets on the screen such
that the terminal user can easily select one from the one or more
communication targets.

[0027] The communication unit may be configured to, if the received
location information of the communication target includes identification
information, establish a communication link to the communication target
using the identification information, and if it fails to receive
identification information from the communication target, transmit
location information of a communication target to a corresponding
communication target, if the corresponding communication target confirms
that the location information transmitted from the terminal is the same
as its location information, receive identification information from the
corresponding communication target, and establish a communication link to
the corresponding communication target using the received identification
information.

[0028] Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following
detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example situation where
communication target recognition of a user terminal is employed according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0030]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of a terminal to
recognize a communication target according to an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention.

[0031]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a visible range and orientation
information of a terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.

[0032]FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating relative angles of devices A and B
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a terminal to which a
location of a communication target is mapped according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a terminal in which a
border between devices is set according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.

[0035]FIG. 7 is diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the control
unit of FIG. 7.

[0037] Elements, features, and structures are denoted by the same
reference numerals throughout the drawings and the detailed description,
and the size and proportions of some elements may be exaggerated in the
drawings for clarity and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader
in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses
and/or systems described herein. Various changes, modifications, and
equivalents of the systems, apparatuses and/or methods described herein
will suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted to
enhance clarity and conciseness.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example situation where
communication target recognition of a user terminal is employed according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 1, a user terminal 1 (hereinafter, simply
referred to as a "terminal") uses location information of communication
target candidates, device A 2-A and device B 2-B, which are located
within a visible range of a user and in a direction in which the terminal
1 faces and identification information of each of which is unknown, to
recognize communication targets, displays the recognized communication
targets in a different manner, and establish a communication link to the
displayed communication target.

[0041] The present invention is applicable to any types of location-based
service system, such as a global positioning system (GPS), capable of
providing location information of a device. In the following description,
a case where a device uses a GPS to acquire its location information is
described.

[0042] Hereinafter, it is assumed that there are three devices, that is,
the terminal 1 and the communication target candidates, device A 2-A and
device B 2-B, within a communication coverage, as shown in FIG. 1. The
terminal 1 may be a handheld device (HD) that can be easily carried by a
user. Devices A and B 2-A and 2-B may be existing terminals or any
objects capable of communications, for example, vehicles, buildings, or
electronic appliances.

[0043] The communication environment of the devices is assumed as follows:

[0044] The terminal 1 desires to establish a communication link to
device A 2-A. That is, device A 2-A is a communication target of the
terminal 1.

[0045] The terminal 1 and device A 2-A do not know each
other's identification (ID) information.

[0046] Both devices A and B 2-A
and 2-B are able to know their absolute locations using GPS or the like.

[0047] The terminal 1 is able to know its orientation information
including a direction in which the terminal 1 faces and an orientation
angle using an electronic compass or a sensor with a similar function.

[0048] The terminal 1 includes an image capturing unit and displays an
image acquired by the image capturing unit on its screen in real time.
The image capturing unit may be a general camera. In the following
description, a camera is taken as an example of the image capturing unit,
but the type of image capturing unit is not limited thereto.

[0049] The
terminal 1 is able to transmit packets in a direction to which a field of
view of the camera is directed and within the radius of field-of-view.

[0050] The devices 2-A and 2-B which are located within a visible range
of the user of the terminal 1 may transmit packets to other devices
within a communication coverage, using broadcast, multicast or unitcast
transmission.

[0051] Hereinafter, process of transmitting and receiving information (for
example, ID information of device B 2-B) required for creating a link
with the communication target, device A 2-A, without confusing with
device B 2-B under the above assumption is described with reference to
FIG. 2.

[0052]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of a terminal to
recognize a communication target according to an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention.

[0053] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal 1 captures an image of
device A 2-A to which a communication link is to be established by using
a camera in 210.

[0054] Then, the terminal 1 obtains orientation information including an
orientation angle γ using an orientation sensor such as an
electronic compass in 220. The orientation angle γ is an angle
between a reference direction of an angle and a direction to which the
terminal 1 is directed. The acquisition of the orientation information of
the terminal 1 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

[0055] The terminal 1 emits a location information request signal by
beamforming in a direction to which the terminal 1 is directed and within
a range of field-of-view of the user in 230. The field of view of the
user may be a field of view λ of the camera of the terminal 1 with
respect to the direction to which the terminal 1 is directed. A range of
distance within which the location information request signal can be
transmitted is defined as a user's visible range, and may be specifically
set by a manufacturer or the user.

[0056] Devices A and B 2-A and 2-B that have received the location
information request signal from the terminal 1 obtain their absolute
coordinates of current locations. Various methods, such as GPS satellite
signals, may be used for the acquisition of the absolute coordinates.
Thereafter, devices A and B 2-A and 2-B each transmit a response packet
to the terminal 1 without collision, and the terminal 1 receives the
response packets in 230. To avoid collision, carrier sense multiple
access (CSMA) may be used.

[0057] The response packet contains a diversity of information. For
example, the response packet may include absolute location coordinates of
devices A and B 2-A and 2-B, information θa and θb about
angles between the respective devices A and B and a reference direction,
unique ID information (cell ID, IP addresses, phone numbers, and the
like) of the respective devices A and B 2-A and 2-B, estimated distances
γa and γb from the terminal 1 to the respective devices A and
B 2-A and 2-B, and device information (available services, device
capabilities, and the like) of the respective devices A and B 2-A and
2-B.

[0058] The terminal 1 recognizes relative locations of the respective
devices A and B 2-A and 2-B using the response packets received from the
devices A and B 2-A and 2-B in 240. For example, relative angles
θa' and θb' of the respective devices A and B 2-A and 2-B
with respect to the right boundary of the field of view of the terminal 1
are calculated based on the absolute location coordinates, an orientation
angle γ between a reference direction and the direction to which
the terminal 1 is directed, and angles θa and θb formed
between the respective devices A and B 2-A and 2-B and the reference
direction. The calculation of the relative angles θa' and θb'
of the respective devices A and B 2-A and 2-B will be described later
with reference to FIG. 4.

[0059] Then, the terminal 1 maps the relative locations of devices A and B
2-A and 2-B obtained in 240 to images of devices A and B 2-A and 2-B
which are captured by a camera of the terminal 1 and displayed on the
terminal's screen, and outputs the mapping result in 250. Detailed
mapping process will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

[0060] The terminal 1 then receives a user's input that selects one (for
example, device A) of devices A and B 2-A and 2-B based on mapping
coordinates. At this time, to facilitate the user's selection, a border
between device A 2-A and device B 2-B may be created. The creation of the
border will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0061] In 260, the terminal 1 establishes a communication link to the
device selected by the user. More specifically, if the response packets
received by the terminal 1 includes ID information, such as an IP address
and phone number, which is additional information of the corresponding
device A or B 2-A or 2-B, the terminal 1 establishes a communication link
to the selected device using the received ID information.

[0062] In contrast, if the terminal 1 has not received the ID information,
such as an IP address and phone number, of devices A and B 2-A and 2-B,
the terminal 1 transmits location information of the selected device to
an area from which the location information request message has been
emitted. Devices present in the relevant area compares the location
information transmitted from the terminal 1 with its own location
information, and if both location information match with each other,
transmits its ID information as a response signal to the terminal 1.
Then, the terminal 1 establishes a communication link to the device using
the received ID information of the device.

[0063]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a visible range and orientation
information of a terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 3, a terminal 1 calculates an orientation angle
γ formed between a reference direction 100 and a direction 110 to
which the terminal 1 is directed by use of an orientation sensor, such as
an electronic compass, a gyro sensor and the like. The reference
direction 100 is parallel to a line of latitude, and may be, for example,
east. The field of view λ of a camera is a range of area that the
camera can capture, and ranges from a left boundary 120-1 to a right
boundary 120-2. A reference of the orientation sensor may be set to the
right boundary 120-2 of the field of view λ of the camera.

[0065]FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating relative angles of devices A and B
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 4, based on location information of devices A and
B 2-A and 2-B, the relative angles θa' and θb' of
the respective devices A and B 2-A and 2-B are calculated by subtracting
a difference between an orientation angle γ between a reference
direction 100 of the terminal 1 and a direction 110 to which the terminal
1 is directed and an orientation angle λ/2 between the direction
110 to which the terminal 1 is directed and a boundary 120-2 of the field
of view of the user from the respective orientation angles θa
and θb between the reference direction 100 and directions to
which the respective devices A and B 2-A and 2-B are directed. Such
calculations may be represented by Formula 1 and Formula 2 as below.

[0067] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a terminal in which a
location of a communication target is mapped according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 5, a terminal 1 captures images of devices A and
B 2-A and 2-B using a camera and displays the captured images on a
screen. Under the assumption that the width of the terminal screen is
measured in centimeters, the images of devices A and B are mapped and
displayed on the screen in accordance with a field of view λ of the
camera and a ratio of relative angles θa' and θb'.

[0069] In one example, a relative distance between the respective devices
A and B mapped in the terminal screen and the rightmost point of the
terminal screen is reduced to 1/λ in accordance with the width 1 of
the screen, the field of view λ of the camera and a ratio of
relative angles θa' and θb'.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 5, given that the rightmost point of the screen is
set as a starting point 0 of coordinates and the leftmost point is set as
1, which is the width of the screen, the relative locations of devices A
and B to be mapped on the screen may be represented as Formula 3 and
Formula 4, respectively, as below.

[0071] Mapping coordinates of device A:

l λ × θ a ' ( cm ) ( 3 )
##EQU00002##

[0072] Mapping coordinates of device B:

l λ × θ b ' ( cm ) ( 4 )
##EQU00003##

[0073] The above-described method of setting the starting point of the
coordinates is provided only for purposes of example, and the coordinates
are not limited to start from the rightmost end of the screen.

[0074] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a terminal in which a
border between devices is set according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 6, the border lth 600 is set to a midpoint
between mapped locations of both devices A and B. This may be represented
by Formula 5 as below. However, the border lth 600 may be set in various
ways.

l th = l λ × θ a ' + θ b ' 2
( 5 ) ##EQU00004##

[0076] If the user selects a region of a terminal screen that includes
coordinates corresponding to 0≦x≦lth, process for
establishing a communication link to device A is performed. If the user
selects a region of the terminal screen that includes coordinates
corresponding to lth≦x≦1, process for establishing a
communication link to device B is performed.

[0077]FIG. 7 is diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0078] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, the terminal 1 includes an image
capturing unit 10, a sensor 11, a communication unit 12, a control unit
13, an output unit 14, and an input unit 15.

[0079] The sensor 11 obtains orientation information of the terminal 1
including a direction and an orientation angle of the terminal 1. The
sensor 11 may be an orientation sensor, such as an electronic compass, a
gyro sensor, or the like.

[0080] The image capturing unit 10 acquires images of devices A and B in
real time. The image capturing unit 10 may be generally a camera. A field
of view of the image capturing unit 10 within which images of devices A
and B can be acquired may be set as a visible range of a user of the
terminal 1.

[0081] The communication unit 12 transmits a location information request
signal to communication target candidates, which are devices A and B
whose ID information are unknown, within the visible range of the
terminal user, and receives the location information from devices A and
B.

[0082] The control unit 13 identifies relative locations of devices A and
B using the orientation information of the terminal 1 obtained by the
sensor 11 and the location information of devices A and B obtained by the
communication unit 12, and maps the identified relative locations to a
screen of the terminal 1. The control unit 13 may recognize the relative
locations of devices A and B of which images are acquired by the image
capturing unit 10, and map the recognized relative locations of devices A
and B and the images of devices A and B.

[0083] The output unit 14 displays the mapped relative locations of
devices A and B on the screen. The output unit 14 may display a border
between the devices so as to assist the user's selection of a device when
displaying the relative locations of devices A and B on the screen.

[0084] The input unit 15 receives an instruction from the user. In
particular, the input unit 15 may receive a selection instruction to
select a communication target from among the communication target
candidates.

[0085] The communication unit 12 establishes a communication link to the
communication target selected from devices A and B whose relative
locations are displayed through the output unit 14. In one example, in
response to receiving ID information of the communication target, the
communication unit 12 establishes the communication link to the
communication target using the received ID information. Alternatively,
when failing to receive ID information from the communication target, the
communication unit 12 transmits location information of a communication
target to the corresponding communication target. A terminal which has
received the location information as the corresponding communication
target checks whether the received location information matches with its
own location information, and transmits its ID information as a response
to the communication unit 12. Then, the communication unit 12 establishes
a communication link to the terminal using the received ID information.

[0086] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the control
unit of FIG. 7.

[0088] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the location information processing
unit 130 sets a transmission range, within which a location information
request signal can be transmitted, based on a reference line of the
orientation angle obtained by the sensor 11. Then, the location
information processing unit 130 emits a location information request
signal within the set transmission range through the communication unit
12, receives location information of devices A and B which have received
the location information request signal, and processes the received
location information.

[0089] The relative location calculating unit 132 calculates relative
angles of communication target candidates, which are formed between a
boundary of a field of view of the user of the terminal 1 and each
direction to which each of devices A and B is directed using the location
information of the respective devices A and B. In one example, based on
the location information of the respective devices A and B, the relative
location calculating unit 132 calculates the relative angles of the
respective devices A and B by performing an operation on an orientation
angle between the reference direction of the terminal 1 and each
direction to each of devices A and B is directed, an orientation angle
between the reference direction of the terminal 1 and a direction to
which the terminal 1 is directed, and an orientation angle between the
boundary of the field of view of the user and the direction to which the
terminal 1 is directed.

[0090] The mapping unit 134 maps the respective devices A and B in the
screen according to the screen size of the terminal, using the calculated
relative angles of devices A and B. In one example, the mapping unit 134
may calculate relative locations of the respective devices A and B to be
displayed on the screen by performing an operation on the relative angle
of the communication target obtained by the relative location calculating
unit 132, a screen width of the terminal 1 and the field of view of the
user, and map the calculated relative locations of the respective devices
A and B in the screen.

[0091] As described above, according to the exemplary embodiments of the
present invention, by using orientation information of a terminal and
location information of communication target candidates whose ID
information are unknown in the user's visible range, relative locations
of the communication target candidates are identified and the identified
relative locations of the communication target candidates are displayed
on a screen in a different manner, so that a user is enabled to select a
communication target while viewing the communication target candidates,
which are present within the visible range of the user, on the screen.
Thus, the user is allowed to select the communication target more
intuitively, compared to the existing communication system, such as a
cell-ID, IP addresses, and phone numbers, and to establish a
communication link to the selected communication target.

[0092] In addition, it is possible to use location information instead of
ID information that is required, in advance, for establishing an initial
link between devices in an existing communication system, and also to
selectively provide information about devices within a particular range
in a visible range to a user to assist the user's selection.

[0093] A number of exemplary embodiments have been described above.
Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be
made. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the described
techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in a
described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a
different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or
their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the
scope of the following claims.

Patent applications by Seung-Chan Bang, Daejeon-Si KR

Patent applications by Young-Hoon Kim, Daejeon-Si KR

Patent applications by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute

Patent applications by KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY